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<title>Poetry...</title>
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<h1><!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/note.gif"><i>Poetry...</i></h1>
<i>Author's Note: I wrote most of these poems over the past year, not too
surprisingly, my emotional turmoils are often reflected in the verses... 
</i><p> 
<!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/dagger.gif"><p>
<h3>The Emigrant Soldier</h3><p>

<dt>What soil, sand, or rock, did I tenderly kiss,
<dd>    as the holy ground of my homeland?
<dt>Whose water, wine, or sweetened liquor,
<dd>    care I lift to quench my thirsty throat?
<dt>From whom did I accept gold, silver,
<dd>    and that which glitters,
<dd>    in payment for the crimson stains upon my metal?
<dt>Undisturbed, save by the chilly winds of wilderness,
<dd>    I slept under foreign skies,
<dd>    with unknown shrubbery my bedding.
<dt>My resting place lay unmarked,
<dd>    save by a rusty, broken sword.
<p>
<!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/litng2.gif" align=right><p>
<h3>The Electric Kiss</h3>
<p>
<dt>In the darken world of digital songs,
<dd>    bounded by whirling bits of zeroes and ones,
<dt>We kissed.
<dt>Devoid of sensations,
<dt>I yet felt your lips upon mine,
<dd>    tender, moist, 
<dd>    tinted with the lightest touch of passion.
<dt>I smelled the scent of your fragrant locks,
<dd>    and tasted the wetness of your mouth.
<dt>Though separated by time, place, and physical laws,
<dt>We kissed,
<dd>    uncaring, unbound,
<dd>    enjoying only the moment's joining
<dd>    the pleasures of a nanosecond...
<dt>With sadness and tearful reluctance,
<dd>    we parted.
<dd>    separated.
<dt>Ended the ghost-like
<dt>Electric Kiss.
<dt>
<dt>
<p><p>
<!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/blond.gif" align=right><p>
<h3>Declaration</h3>
<p>
<dt>The smile of your tender lips,
<dd>    brightens my leaden heart
<dt>The swirl of your soft flowing locks,
<dd>    warms like the life-giving sun.
<dt>The batting of your gentle eyelashes,
<dd>    makes my steady hand quake,
<dt>The laughter in your glittering eyes,
<dd>    makes my life full of joy.
<dt>Oh dear one,
<dt>How do I love you!
<dt>How fleeting the ticks of a clock,
<dd>    when I am with you.
<dt>Soft chuckles and heartfelt laughter,
<dd>    did I enjoy with you.
<dt>What little else can I say,
<dd>    but "I love you".
<p><p>
<!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/chain.gif">
<h3>Prisoner</h3>
<p>
<dt>No rings of iron
<dd>    nor ropes of hemp bind me
<dt>No walls of concrete enclose me,
<dt>No cuffs of steel
<dd>    nor pillory of wood shackle me.
<dt>Yet I am prisoner.
<dt>Memories of our tender kiss muffles my voice,
<dt>Thoughts of our shared secrets restraints my action,
<dt>The door to my cage is unlocked,
<dd>    open.
<dt>Yet I remained within.
<dt>Yet I am prisoner.
<dt>Prisoner,
<dd>    in loving you.
<p><p>
<!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/chain.gif">
<h3>Three Loves</h3><p>
<!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/thorn01.gif" align=right><p>

<dt>What is love, they asked.
<dt>Which love, I answered.
<dt>Tell us of the first, they asked.
<dt>I cried as I thought of the answer,
<dd>    but no tears came.
<dd>    It had dried long ago.
<dt>I screamed as memories came back,
<dd>    but no sounds of agony issued.
<dd>    It had silenced long ago.
<dt>Trembling, I answered,
<dt>The first love is
<dd>    like a poisoned blade...
<dd>    thrust in your heart...
<dd>    by the pale hand of a loved one...
<dd>    ...so slowly twisting
<dt>I uncovered my hand from my chest,
<dd>    and black blood yet flowed,
<dd>    trickling down to stain the floor.
<dt>As we walked, they asked again,
<p>
<dt>What is love, they asked.
<dt>Which love, I answered.
<dt>Tell us of the second, they asked.
<dt>I lifted a leather sack,
<dd>    and opened it.
<dt>My heart beats within,
<dd>    surrounded by sharp,
<dd>    glittering glass shards
<dt>I shook the bag and felt the pain.
<dt>Cursing, I spit out a mouthful of scarlet,
<dt>That is the second love, I answered,
<dd>    Pain from a thousand cuts...
<dd>    twisting, churning...
<dd>    the gentle touch of your loved one...
<dd>    placed your heart...
<dd>    .... in a bag of broken glass...
<dt>As we walked, they asked again,
<dd>
<dt>What is love, they asked.
<dt>Which love, I answered.
<dt>Tell us of the third, they asked.
<dt>I cried
<dd>    no tears came, but blood streaked.
<dd>    Streaked down my face.
<dt>I screamed
<dd>    but my voice cracked,
<dd>    my throat tightened in a noose.
<dt>I fell
<dd>    on my knees.
<dt>The beating heart within the sack
<dd>The sword wound upon my chest
<dd>Nothing
<dd>Nothing
<p>
<dt>Tell us of the third, they pressed again.
<dt>I can't, I gasped,
<dt>There isn't.
<p><p>
<!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h3>Voices</h3><p>

<dt>Under the pale moon,
<dt>I chatted with digital shadows.
<dt>Men and women with phantom-like voices,
<dd>        flowing through a web,
<dd>        a web of glass-copper tubes.
<dt>Each a mask of electrons wears,
<dt>Deceitful smiles of delight,
<dd>        flashed in their curious eyes.
<dt>A game of romantic intrigue, they played,
<dd>        without tender yielding flesh,
<dd>        without gentle kisses or red roses,
<dd>        without any form of golden bands...
<dt>I drifted amidst a sea of banshee sounds,
<dd>        Blind and Numb...
<dt>I hear the Lake of Souls:
<dd>        "Save me, save me..."
<dd>        "Ha, ha, ha, ha..."
<dd>        "Tell me of that..."
<dd>        "24/f/MA..."
<dd>        "IMHO, the..."
<dd>        ": ) ..."
<dt>I cried and laughed with them,
<dt>Yet, in the end,
<dt>They are little more,
<dd>        than distant voices...
<dd>        ... as am I to them.
<p><p>
<!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Tender is the Night</h4>
<!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/moon.gif" align=right><p>
<p>
<dt>Tender is the night,
<dd>        when Luna's luminous glow fell upon 
<dd>            your lovely face,
<dd>        and stars winced in bright jealousy.
<p>
<dt>Soft is the evening breeze,
<dd>        that the whispers of air send your locks
<dd>        rippling like ocean waves.
<p>
<dt>I caressed the gentle curves of your neck,
<dd>        feeling the comforting smoothness of your skin.
<dd>        Gently, I kissed your half closed eyelids.
<p>
<dt>Embracing you, I felt our bodies tremble,
<dd>        in tingling resonance our hearts pounded,
<dd>        fearful yet full of love's delightful joy.
<p>
<dt>Tender is the night,
<dd>        when Luna grew bashful behind the formless clouds,
<dd>        and stars twinkled in glitters of envy,
<p>
<dt>Envious of us.
<p><p>
<!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Modes</h4>
<p>
<dt>Whistling breeze through tattered veils,
<dt>Broken shards of light and glued-on shadows,
<dt>Pale, transluscent marble floor,
<dt>Dried droplets of blood and tear,
<dt>Wandering did breathless moans of lust,
<dt>Tender whispers of yearning yet echos,
<dt>Pacing, the needle-like thoughts,
<dt>Ringing laughters and fleeting smiles,
<dt>A Lonely House
<dt>Two Tattered Veils
<dt>Three Broken Windows and
<dt>Four panels of Stained Floor
<dt>"And I would be the one
<dt>to hold you down -
<dt>kiss you so hard...
<dt>I'll take your breath away..." [1]
<p><p>
<!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/wall.gif" align=right><p>
<h4>Dark Winds over Sethanon</h4><p>

<dt>With cynical intelligence,
<dd>        and festering passion,
<dt>I fought upon the wall of grey Sethanon,
<dd>        beneath a Dark Sun and a Dark Moon.
<p>
<dt>Each moment a hectic exertion.
<dt>Each moment a sorrowful introspection.
<dt>Fleetingly fell the sands of time,
<dt>As the embers of hope grew dimmer.
<p>
<dt>Howling winds cleaved its chill to my bone,
<dt>Grimacing steel laced through my flesh,
<dt>I tasted the bitterness of my blood,
<dt>Hot salty tears streaking down my soul.
<p>
<dt>Once, you and I kissed farewell,
<dd>        in a street devoid of others.
<p><p>
<!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Farewell Kiss [2]</h4><p>

<dt>Like a stringless kite
<dd>        flew my caring thoughts of you,
<dt>No longer able to enter your world,
<dt>No longer able to warm your heart.
<dt>I saw the tragedy acted out,
<dd>        Neither laughter nor joy in the finale --
<dd>        Only frozen shards of dreams remain.
<p>
<dt>In that sudden moment,
<dd>        I understood a little:
<dd>        the promises that would never be...
<dt>In that blinking of the eye,
<dd>        Your face was unfamiliar,
<dd>        no longer the one I had known...
<p>
<dt>Snow descended in my world,
<dt>So cold...
<dd>        so cold that I could not love,
<dd>        so cold that it expose my every hidden regret.
<p>
<dt>You and I kissed farewell,
<dd>        in an alley with no others,
<dd>        letting the wind mock my weakness --
<dd>        incapable of pushing you away.
<dt>You and I kissed farewell,
<dd>        in the chaos of night,
<dd>        my heart waiting --
<dd>        anticipating sorrow and despair.
<p><p>
<!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/fall.gif" align=right><p>
<h4>At Buttermilk Fall</h4><p>

<dt>Tho' brilliant sunlight streamed across my face,
<dt>And glittering blue flowed the sky above me,
<dt>Dark and shadowy swirled my thoughts.
<p>
<dt>Tho' spring-green grass swayed in breeze,
<dt>And aqua lotus leaves floated upon the rippling pond,
<dt>Black and grey trembled my feelings.
<p>
<dt>A small tome of love poems,
<dd>        the gentle reminder of that difficult truth:
<dd>        "'Tis better to loved and lost,
<dd>        then ne'er loved at all."
<p>
<dt>Depression and Desolation, mine -- 
<dd>        Dark, Shadowy, Black, and Grey
<p>
<dt>Until I thought of your gentle face,
<dd>        your hazel eyes and dark locks,
<dd>        your beautiful, carefree smile.
<p>
<dt>Slowly, gradually, almost imperceptiblly,
<dd>        the corner of my lips turned --
<dd>        I smiled as I thought of you.
<p><p>
<!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Monologue, Broken Verses</h4><p>
<!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/desert.gif" align=right><p>

<dt>In the silence of the night,
<dt>I am troubled.
<dt>In the noise of the day,
<dt>I am worried.
<dt>Shards of my dreams rained upon me,
<dt>their sharp points and razor edges bled me,
<dt>Why is it that I must ever turn --
<dt>inward,
<dt>to face that abyss within.
<dt>To be alone in confronting the demons?
<dt>Why ask why?
<dt>Do you not hear the laughter within the wind?
<dt>Mocking, silly laughters that sends chills up my spine?
<dt>Do you not hear the cries within the cackling fire?
<dt>Taunting, eerie cries that burns me?
<dt>No tears, no sadness.
<dt>No screams, no sorrow.
<dt>Only embers of resentment now remain.
<dt>In the end, only the flame of anger and hatred remains,
<dt>to burn away the excessive emotional burdens,
<dt>to burn away the impurities,
<dt>to burn away all but the focus.
<dt>I sighed at the sands, the rocks, the azure heavenlies,
<dt>"If I must fight on alone, so be it.
<dt>In the end, if I must pay, so be it.
<dt>So be it."
<dt>I laughed, there is no joy in the sound.
<dt>I laughed.
<p><p>
<!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Musings to Demons</h4><p>
<!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/death.gif" align=right><p>

<dt>In the twilight of broken visions,
<dd>        when my left arm clots of scarlet,
<dd>        my constant companions are but two,
<dt>Death and Despair.
<p>
<dt>Where are my tears, I long wondered.
<dt>Perhaps they've fled this cruel mortal shell,
<dd>        leaving me expressionless.
<dt>What twisted creature within me mocks,
<dt>That I should laugh and taunt my own misery?
<p>
<dt>Death and Despair,
<dt>Death and Despair,
<dt>How you've been with me always.
<dt>A false laughter or an ill-constructed joke,
<dd>        mocking my own screamless torments,
<dd>        cannot break your companionships.
<dt>Longing for the end?  Mayhaps.
<p>
<dt>Blood stained white roses,
<dt>Teardrops upon broken granite,
<dt>Lightning in gray tempest,
<dt>These are but a few of my favorite things.
<p><p>
<!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif"><p>
<!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/litng1.gif" align=right><p>
<h4>Thunderstorm I</h4><p>

<dt>Sky gray edge to edge,
<dt>Thunderous boom resound heavenlies,
<dt>Billiant glare lights above,
<dt>Tear drop rain softly caressed,
<dt>Amidst storm I stood awed,
<dt>Stilled at Nature's mood.
<p>
<h4>Thunderstorm II</h4><p>

<dt>Through eye's edge steel sky held,
<dt>Sudden flashes ripped blacken clouds,
<dt>Echoed still thunderous clash,
<dt>Chilled rain washed my burning tears.
<p><p>
<!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>Impressions, Diamond's</h4><p>

<dt>Colored shadows filtered in ambient light;
<dt>Neon brilliance stared out to cloaked streets;
<dt>Airy, curly, lazily drifted,
<dd>        puffs of virulent cigarette smoke.
<dt>Harshly, speedily, pressingly pounded,
<dd>        drums, voices, and metallic strings.
<dt>Hazel, transluscent, emerald, and scarlet
<dd>        ebbed vessels of sense-numbing ethanol.
<dt>Notes trembled through walls, floors, and wavering forms,
<dd>        Portraying a feverish, beating dream.
<dt>Familiar faces, lighted by inhaled tobacco,
<dd>        whispered softly into half-deaf ears.
<dt>Why do people come to such places?
<dt>I don't know...
<dt>... but "hey, barkeep, could you get me another one?"
<p><p>
<!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
<h4>References</h4><p>
 
[1] "Possession" from "Fumbling toward Ecstacy", Sarah McLachlan, 
Arista Records 1993.<p>
[2] "Farewell Kiss" from "Farewell Kiss", 1992, translated from Chinese.<p>
<!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><img src="http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Info/People/ddhung/poetry/roseline.gif">
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